The elders didn't escape the colossal shock either. They had never seen an absurd result like this.
In all their years in the sect and even in all of its recorded history, there has never been a case of the meter fully being lit! They didn't even think it was possible to fully lit it.
Some would even argue that the topmost checkpoints were only there for appearances and grandeur, showing in a way that there was always someone better who would come along. A higher height of legendary talents of some sorts.
The calm elder Fu was dumbfounded on the spot, unable to speak or move. The high-spirited elder Mu, on the other hand, wasn't the same.
Being more emotional than elder Fu, the shock hit him harder. He immediately lost all feelings on his body and then his vision turned dark.
He didn't have the strength anymore to support his body, and neither could he maintain his consciousness, fainting on the floor like a sack of potatoes.
The test taker had already removed his hand from the depression and moved a few steps back, the three by the side though were still frozen. One was standing still like a statue, one was kneeling on the floor like he had lost everything he owned, and the other was unconscious.
In a moment of sudden clarity, elder Fu regained his senses long enough to realize what these unbelievable results meant for the sect. With the results' importance flooding his mind, he immediately turned around and ran like mad outside the building to fetch the sect leader of their sect. Only he was capable to handle this candidate!
After elder Fu's departure, silence prevailed on the testing grounds as the surrounding people were still shaken from the aptitude test's outcome. And the silence lasted until elder Fu came back a few moments later. With him came along the sect leader of the Azure Brilliance Sect, sect leader Di Zou.
After hearing the flustered elder describing what had occurred, he hurried with him to the site. He could only be thankful that there was someone who had still the necessary state of mind to contact him about it.
Before he could even pay any attention to the candidate though, the sect leader glanced at the kneeling inner disciple and the fainted elder... 'Fainted?!' he thought, screaming in his head. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right now.
Except that it was an unbelievable sight to spectate, it was an unprecedented one too!
"Elder Fu, what kind of display is this?! Do something about it, now!" sect leader shouted.
"Yes, sect leader! Somebody come and help me!" elder Fu shouted next.
A couple of the surrounding spectators did come, and along with the recovered elder Fu, they carried the fainted elder Mu away from the area.
'Ahh, what a disgrace.'
And indeed, it was a disgraceful image. An elder of their esteemed sect fainting before their disciples and the new seeds.
"Ahh..." he sighed again and then turned to the kneeling disciple.
"Disciple Neji, right? Come and give me your records on the tests." he said, requesting the papers the guiding disciple was holding.
'It's Tang actually sect leader, not Neji...' disciple Tang could only think about the sect leader's mistake regarding his name; he didn't dare correct him out loud.
"Yes, sect leader!" Awakening from his stupor, disciple Tang gave the records to the set leader.
Taking the records, sect leader Di Zou started reading. He didn't know what to expect when he heard about the amazing test results, but the more he read the more shocked he became.
'Pulverizing the testing boulder instead of leaving at best a palm imprint on it.... Withstanding the change in gravity without a flinch, right until the end. What or whose end exactly?! ...Absorbing not one, but two magic crystals in a matter of seconds too! .... Lighting the magic aptitude stele all the way to the top in a single flow!!! What kind of results are these?!
This is no longer a genius, but a monster solely born for magical practice and mastery! I thought someone with talent had finally showed up. Maybe if we were truly lucky, it would be someone with once in a hundred years talent, but instead, we got a once in a forever legendary genius!
This is unpresented! This is unbelievable! This is... a heaven-sent opportunity!
If we successfully recruit this kind of talent, our sect won't just be restored to its former glory but will also be able to achieve heights every sect leader before me could only dream of!'
Exuberant and fully determined to win this candidate's heart so he could join them for sure, sect leader Di Zou produced his best smile and adopted a warm and welcoming aura as he began addressing the candidate.
"Hello, my young friend! Welcome to our humble sect. Your name is Pete, right? Allow me, as the sect leader of the Azure Brilliance Sect, to congratulate you on your amazing tests' results! It was truly a pleasant surprise when I heard of your presence."
Sect leader Di Zou started his speech by greeting the candidate and introducing himself and then followed up full of compliments for the monster genius candidate with unrestrained laughs and gestures accompanying them.
"Your ways of passing the tests were simply, uhm, spectacular and awe-aspiring, ahahaha! I truly regret not being here to witness your amazing performances myself, ahahaha!"
Sect leader Di Zou continued on with the compliments for a while before he stopped. He wanted to say everything he could to pull the candidate to their sect, in case he had any second thoughts about joining them and instead thought of going to the other sects on the planet.
"So, what do you think young Pete? Are you ready to become part of the magnificent Azure Brilliance Sect?" asked finally sect leader Di Zou, with his arms spread open.
He expected to hear the candidate's answer straight away, eager to join them on the path of magic, but he was not aware that he didn't understand their language.
Instead of receiving a spoken and audible answer, the candidate remained silent; an inaction that stunned the sect leader for a second.
Sect leader Di Zou was still caught in his short confusion because of the candidate's silence when he heard a sound that pulled him out of it.
"Cough!" The candidate coughed and the sect leader saw him as he stretched his arm towards him and kept closing his fingers in a fist, repeatedly.
The gesture was unexpected to say the least, which startled the sect leader for a split second, but it was otherwise clear in its meaning; the candidate was expecting something to be given to him.
Sect leader Di Zou understood the candidate's gesture's meaning pretty quick.
The candidate's gesture was so smooth and fluid that it was like a slow and calm stream that swept the sect leader in its currents without him realizing it in time to resist. He could only think in exuberance that the candidate's gesture was a form of agreement to join their sect, so he didn't have any reason for declining his request.
Like he was following normal procedures, he called at the back with an order.
"I want a disciple of the treasury building to bring a set of the standard magic tools and resources for the new recruits! No wait! Speak to elder Gu to take out the best quality ones we have in storage and an advanced sect badge and be quick about it!"
After giving out the order he waited patiently for the items to be brought to him. In the meantime, he kept smiling at the newest recruit, trying extremely hard to hide his immense joy.
It didn't take long for a female disciple to bring the items back. After receiving them from her, sect leader Di Zou faced the newest recruit yet again with the items in his arms.
"Cough! Dear Pete, allow me to formally welcome you to our sect! These are the gifts prepared for you for joining us. They are the necessary tools and resources you would need to embark on your journey with us. Fret not though! Even if you exhaust the resources, we would be glad to give you more!"
"Now, without any more delay, let me introduce to you the items. The first item is this flying sword! Usually, they are only used for flying, but this one is also useful for combat or to protect yourself." the sect leader said, giving the top-quality flying sword to the candidate.
"This pouch is specially made to store many things inside, unburdening you from their weight. Inside you will find one hundred magic crystals, ideal for starting your magical practice. When you spend them or absorb them, feel free to go to the treasury and ask for more, they would give you for sure." he said and passed the pouch to the candidate.
"This is your sect badge. With it you can announce your identity outside our grounds if you ever get in trouble and no one will dare harm you. It is also used to allow you entry in many places in the sect which otherwise would be forbidden for entry."
"Lastly, this is the manual for our sect primary magic art, the "Azure Brilliance Light". It will help you build a solid foundation for your magic path. I am sure you won't take long to master it. When that time comes, head to the Magic Arts Library to pick any other magic art you take a fancy of."
Having given the items to his sect's new hope, sect leader Di Zou watched with a satisfied smile as the new disciple kept looking at the items with joy. He appeared especially happy about the manual; he was looking at it with sparkles in his eyes.
But then, the unexpected happened.
Young Pete, the legendary talent who has just joined their sect, suddenly looked up towards the sect leader with the items still warped in his arms. In the next moment, as sect leader Di Zou was returning his gaze - a smile still plastered on his face - he witnessed in disbelief as all those items, except the manual, vanished into thin air with only a slight movement from Pete's arms.
Then, immediately after, the so far quiet and ignorant of the language newest recruit, made just two steps forward and then vanished too, seemingly in an instant into thin air himself, leaving all the spectators stunned and shocked to their bones. No one expected for something like this to happen, no one could even believe it had happened.
Sect leader Di Zou stayed frozen where he stood for a good while, unable to process what unfolded before his very own eyes.
"...Disciple Neji... where did young Pete go?" asked sect leader Di Zou in between pauses, his mouth dry and eyes open wide.
'It's Tang actually sect leader, not...AS IF THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW!' inwardly screamed disciple Tang.
"...I don't know sect leader..." was all disciple Tang could answer him with.
That day was recorded down in the history of the Azure Brilliance Sect and became known to all the other sects under the Cosmic Tower of Magic, both as the day they discovered the most amazing magical talent ever to exist in the magical society, but also as the day when a sequence of events surrounding an unknown being called "Pete" occurred, which remained forever unexplained.